Conditions Affecting Tire Mileage
There is usually a trade off between tire performance and the tires tread life in the development of the tires. To gain one you need to trade off another. Some people brag when they get 15,000 miles from of a set of tires because they know how hard they drive while other drivers complain if they only get 40,000 to 50,000 miles. There are many things that a person can do to improve tire mileage regardless of how they drive, or the type of the tire, or the power of their truck, Jeep, SUV or car.
Tire Tread life is related to many different factors some of which are; the tires air pressure, how often the tires air pressure is checked, tire rotation, individual driving habits, the road surfaces, the road conditions, the vehicle suspension, vehicle caster and tow alignment, the type of shock absorbers, and more. The relationship between the size tire and the vehicle weight. The larger the size of the tire and the lighter the vehicle the better the tire mileage tends to be. The smaller the tire size and the heavier the vehicle the less the tire tread life will be. Perhaps the worst error made is neglect of air pressure. Tire Air pressure should be checked monthly with an accurate tire gauge, be sure to check the tires when the tires are cool. Two important things support a vehicle...the actual tire air pressure and the actual volume of air in a tire. When a large tire is used that larger volume of air supports the vehicle with little air pressure but that does not mean the tire is stable. The tire can look like the tire is under inflated because it does not seem to be low but this low air pressure can make the tire unstable and can cause squirming of the tire tread. It is OK to run tires with low pressure off road, but the tire pressure should be increased back up when the vehicle is back on the highway. Many recommended that tires used on four wheel drive vehicles be rotated front to rear and rear to front usually about every four to five thousand miles, don't criss-cross.
As can be seen from the above there is no way of knowing what tire tread life of a given set of tires will be. The compounds used in the tire tread rubber can also vary, but is constant with each tire type manufactured. Manufacturers try to achieve a balance in tire tread compounds that provide good highway tire traction and overall tire and vehicle performance, while not sacrificing too much in tire tread life.
Causes of Tire Wear
ROAD SURFACES
Tires provide traction as the weight of the vehicle forces the tire tread rubber onto the road's surface irregularities. That same interaction creates wear as the road surface tears microscopic pieces of rubber from the tire tread as it slips into and out of contact with the road surface. Just as coarse sandpaper removes material faster, coarser road surfaces cause more tire wear. The following tire mileage estimate is typical of what a 40000 mile rated tire driven on smother asphalt surface would deliver if that tire were driven exclusively on other road surfaces.
Surface Type Miles
Smooth Asphalt - 40000
Coarse Asphalt - 36000
Concrete - 28000
Extra Coarse Asphalt - 24000
Country Road - 20000
Crushed Stone - 8000
WHEEL ALIGNMENT
Wheel alignment controls the distribution of vehicle load across the tire's footprint. Tire camber is the tire's tilt inward (negative) or outward (positive) when viewed from the front and has significant impact on tire handling and tire shoulder wear. Caster is the angle of steering axis tilt when viewed from the side and while it does not affect tire wear, it does affect the vehicle's handling and tendency to track straight down the road. Toe is the direction that the tires are aimed when viewed from above. Toe-in is when the tires are pointed towards each other; toe-out is when the tires are pointed away from each other. Toe greatly affects tire wear since a setting just 1/16 of an inch off will make the tires want to travel sideways about 150 feet every mile.
DRIVING STYLE
Finaly and most important, the way you drive your vehicle - passively or aggressively - can greatly impact wear.
*Note:
The federal government imposes an excise tax with a graduated tax rate structure on heavy tires. The early history of this tax shows that it mirrored war periods and was used both to conserve rubber supplies and as a funding source. Today, tire taxes are part of the monies used to fund the Highway Trust Fund. We have already included this tax into ALL of our tire prices, what you see is what you pay. We NEVER have hidden charges